Warrior Cats: Wind of the Wild (Vol 1) - Silent Stones
by Silas-Wolf-Fang
Summary: A kittypet named Chuck and his friend Precious and Cookie explore the woods in an attempt to find his brother Ralph, who they discover has joind ThunderClan. The wild calling them as well, they join as apprentices. What Wildpaw, formerly Chuck, does not know is that the forest holds darker secrets than he had first anticipated...
1. Chapter 1

Chuck was out on his daily rounds around the neighborhood. He usually caught some prey to eat and had skirmishes with the local toms. He was no stranger to fighting and thought he did well for himself.

Ralph, his brother, had said that it would be a good idea to split up that night, to see what it was like to have an adventure alone for once.

Chuck thought it was odd and out of the ordinary for his brother, but he reluctantly accepted the proposition and went on to kill a few mice, mostly for sport, and then returned home near morning.

"Ralph?" he called, expecting his brother to answer, but he wasn't back yet. _Maybe he's just having a lot of fun and hasn't returned yet,_ he thought and went inside his housefolk's nest.

The ginger tabby tom went to nap on the sofa, surrounded by many cardboard boxes all around that the twolegs were currently using to put things inside, and awoke around noon day. Hungry, Chuck fed from his bowl of dry pellets, which tasted oddly bland that day. He then searched for his brother, finding no fresh trace of scent nor seeing him.

 _Where could he have gone?_ wondered the ginger tom, worried. _I hope he's okay._

Chuck padded outside through his cat door and out into the front lawn. If he could just find out where Ralph had gone last night, perhaps he could track him down. Sniffing around, Chuck came to the road that went through his neighborhood. As he was concentrating, a sweet she-cat spoke to him, approaching.

"Hello, Chuck!"

Chuck looked up and saw a small beautiful tortoiseshell she-cat with yellow eyes. "Precious," he greeted her with a smile.

She smiled back and lashed her tail slowly. "Are you looking for something?"

"My brother never came back last night after he said wanted to go exploring," he explained.

Precious gazed off into the woods at the far end of the road. "Ralph has been acting very strange lately, don't you think?" she asked.

Chuck tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"You haven't noticed?" the tortoiseshell she-cat furrowed her brows with amusement. "He's barely taken his eyes off the woods since he heard about what housefolk do to male cats out of the blue."

Chuck supposed she was right. When him and his brother were old enough, they knew what was coming; they would be stripped off their ability to be a tom. They couldn't have kittens of their own. Perhaps that bothered Ralph more than it did him and that was why he was being somewhat distant.

Precious pressed her tail tip against his shoulder. "Would you like me to come help you look for him?" she offered.

Chuck appreciated the help. "I would like that. Especially now that you've given me an idea!"

"What is it?" she asked, curious.

"I think I know where to find my brother… he must be in the forest."

Chuck and Precious dashed into the woods, with no fear for they had no idea that a large clan of cats lived there, no less four clans. The worst thing to fear was a fox or coyote, and the cats where Chuck lived were not afraid of them. They may be tame cats, but they were no cowards.

The forest was so fresh and warm, the grass and leaves under their paws soft and crisp. The many scents of prey whirled up into Chuck's nose and he had to fight the urge to begin a hunt. To be quite honest, he had never really hunted here. He mostly caught lonely mice in fields and nearby the humans housing.

The forest floor began to slope upward, becoming steeper until there was a steep cliff face before them. "I definitely smell Ralph," observed the ginger tabby tom. "I just can't understand where he may be exactly…"

Precious began to climb the rock face, easily leaping from rock to rock, to get to the top. "Well, let's keep going… keep in mind, Chuck, there's always a possibility that he may have run away for good this time," the she-cat warned.

Chuck's fur fluffed up. "Do you really think he would run away and not tell me, or invite me with him?"

"Maybe," replied the tortoiseshell.

The ginger tom remembered how just moons ago Precious had been a tiny kitten mewling for her mother, helpless with her brother Cookie by her side. His housefolk's daughter had convinced her two neighbors to take one each, so Precious went into one home and Cookie into the home right beside hers so that they never had to be apart for long and could see each other every day.

 _Your mother was quite cranky all the time, but… I do miss her sometimes,_ Chuck thought and remembered with nostalgia the times when Precious' mother Black Kitty would curl up with him at night. She had been mean most of the time, but it wasn't her fault that she had had an accident when she was a kitten and had been somewhat mentally damaged.

Chuck snapped back to the present when he realized that Precious was almost at the top by now, and he leaped up and proceeded to climb. Once at the top, he saw that his she-cat friend had waited for him.

He was about to discuss with her where to head next, but he was cut off by the dark voice of an approaching cat. "Well, well, well—look who decided to venture into the woods!"

 _Cookie!_ The ginger tabby instantly recognized him. The blue-gray-and-white tom padded forward out of the undergrowth and came to a halt a few tail-lengths away from Chuck and his sister.

"We came looking for my brother Ralph," Chuck stated, flicking the tip of his tail. "Have you seen him?"

Cookie laughed with a smirk on his lips. "It's funny you should mention him, I was on my way back to tell you guys what he's discovered."

Chuck's eyes lit up in excitement. "So you know where he is then! What has he discovered?" he asked.

The fur along Cookie's spine rippled with sheer enthrallment. Whatever Ralph had found was enough to drive a cat crazy. Precious trotted forward and urged her brother to take them to where Ralph was and to what he had found that was so amazing.

The blue-gray-and-white tom cat winked. "You'll have to see for yourself when we get there, but just know that it is the most awesome thing a cat can ever know."

Chuck could feel his pelt searing with urgency and the need to know. Once Cookie took off and led them, he followed him with Precious by his side.

It took them a while, but they finally reached the location that Cookie had talked about. Cookie crouched in some bushes, peering out through the other end of them. Chuck and Precious crawled up beside him and did the same, and gasped at what they saw.

They were on top of a ravine, cliffs and rock faces on every side of the indent in the earth. However, they weren't interested in the terrain; it was something far rarer. They looked down and saw a flat ground at the bottom of the ravine, covered in lush grass, and upon it walked a large group of wild cats, seeming to be going about their daily business and grooming each other.

"Who are they? I don't think I have ever seen so many cats together before, not in the alley ways in town!" remarked the ginger tabby tom. Did they all live together and fend for themselves? Or was this some sort of special meeting between stray cats? So many questions buzzed through his mind.

Cookie flicked his tail, impatient to meet them and find out exactly what Ralph was up to. "I don't know, but I have heard stories about wild cats that live in groups called Clans. I didn't believe the tales until I followed your brother's scent here and found them all down there."

Precious flattened her ears. "You say Ralph is down there, with them?" she asked. "What if they captured him and are going to kill him for trespassing on their territory, or something?"

Cookie laughed, maybe a little too loudly. "Call me a spy, but I've been watching that tom for a while now!" he stated. "Any cat who takes an interest in the woods has a craving for adventure, and when I saw him last night finally having the courage to enter it for the first time, I followed him and he met with some strange wild cats. At first they tried to kill him, but they saw his fighting tactics and, I guess they saw the potential in asking him to join their Clan."

"What?" Chuck and Precious exclaimed in utter shock at the exact same moment. Ralph, his brother, had really been asked to join a wild cat clan? How amazing that thought was. These professional hunters, professional warriors, had seen potential in his brother and invited him into their group and their lives; oh, how Chuck desperately wanted an opportunity like that as well.

 _No! There's no way I am leaving my housefolk, they love me,_ Chuck pushed the thought of becoming a wild cat to the back of his mind.

Chuck stood up, pinning his ears against the back of his head. "Well, I'm going in after him," he said and turned to walk along the ravine's edge, to find a way down.

"Are you crazy?" Precious fretted. "I've heard about those wild cats, they kill for pleasure and they don't take kindly to trespassers."

"They took kindly to my brother, I will just say I followed his scent and it led here," the ginger tabby responded, not stopping or looking back. He hoped his two friends would go home for safety reasons, but they stuck with him; Cookie especially stayed close, probably interested in the clan and learning about them. Precious was terrified, but stayed with her friend and brother loyally.

After swiveling through some thick undergrowth, Chuck came upon a narrow slope downward into the ravine, covered and rather well hidden by brambles. He squeezed through and trotted quickly through the bramble tunnel, followed closely by his friends, and when he had come to the bottom, he paused. He narrowed his eyes and watched the cats in the clan's ravine.

Chuck was about to explain the plan to introduce themselves when all of a sudden a fiery red she-cat burst through the bramble entrance and crashed into him. Immediately Precious' fur bristled and it looked as if she felt the urge to run away, but something stopped her.

Chuck backed away, tensing himself and readying for a fight if he had to. He hoped the she-cat would not attack him, he meant no harm to anyone. The red she-cat shot up to her paws and snarled at him. "Trespassers! What are you three doing in ThunderClan territory?" she demanded, claws unsheathed and ready to flay them alive.


	2. Chapter 2

Chuck felt his heartbeat ring in his ears as blood flowed violently throughout him. He was used to fighting, but something about this cat and her clan was different. They were like nothing he'd ever seen or smelt before. Their bodies were different, not plump like the other house cats, but rather muscular and sleek.

 _They live on real food, like mice and rabbits, without the pellets_ , mused the ginger tabby.

Cookie growled and stepped forward. "We mean you no harm, but we'll fight you if we have to," he threatened.

Chuck jabbed the hotheaded tom's shoulder and began to speak instead. "He's right, we mean your clan no harm," he began calmly. "You may know my brother, Ralph; I followed his scent and it led here. Is he staying with you?"

The she-cat snorted. "Ah, that red cat that stinks of the twoleg place! Yea, I've seen him, he's staying with us by the leader's order."

Chuck's eyes widened in relief and excitement, and he hoped the she-cat would let them in to see his brother. "May we enter and see him?" he asked politely.

The she-cat looked them all over very suspiciously, but turned her back and began to lead them into the encampment, flicking her tail as a gesture for the three cats to follow her.

 _Twolegs?_ Chuck wondered. _Is that what the clans call humans or housefolk?_

The red she-cat who looked no older than about nine moons—same age as Chuck and his brother—led them up a ledge to an opening in the rocks, shielded by a curtain of lichen moss. While making their way up there, they couldn't help but feel the hot glares of suspicion and coldness seeping into them from the clan cats all around. Chuck felt so out of place and yet comfortable at the same time, as if he had been born here and knew the layout like he knew his paw pads.

"Don't you dare say a word until Stonestar allows you to, this is our clan and you are outsiders. Got it?" she growled.

The ginger tom nodded respectfully, and waited for Precious to catch up before going after the she-cat into the rock opening. Chuck could sense the fear and nervousness on the tortoiseshell's fur, clinging like a rat. He felt sorry for putting her through this, but he had to find his brother and it did not look as if the clan posed a threat, so long as they played by the clan's rules and respected their ways.

Cookie was always a bit disrespectful toward any form of authority and wanted to protest every single warning from the young she-cat that was leading them, but knew better, for Chuck had just enough audacity to give his ear a good nicking for getting them in trouble.

Once the three were inside, Chuck looked around in the darkness and saw that it was a decent sized den fit for a cat or two. He wanted to ask about it, but remembered he was not supposed to speak until given the go ahead by Stonestar, presumably the leader of this ThunderClan.

"Stonestar," began the red she-cat, trotting up to her dark furred leader who sat face to face with a familiar tom. Ralph! "I've brought visitors who say they are looking for their friend here."

Stonestar was a large, lanky dark gray tom with yellow eyes. His eyes shone golden in the shadows of his den, and they laid themselves on the three outsider cats. "I see," he mewed drily. He seemed to be examining Chuck and his two friends, one by one, very carefully. "Thank you, Dawnpaw, you may return to your duties now."

With that, the red she-cat whisked past them and rushed quickly out of the leader's den. Chuck turned his attention back to Stonestar and Ralph, a huge smile suppressed on his face. He had worried about his brother, so to see that he was fine was a comfort.

"Come, sit with us," said Stonestar, gesturing with his long tail for them.

Chuck padded forward, his steps long and sturdy. He sat beside his brother, while Cookie sat with his sister on the opposite side of the leader. "May we speak now?" asked Chuck, lowering his head in submission.

"Yes, you may, young one," Stonestar cracked a subtle smile. "Don't mind Dawnpaw, she is a fiery apprentice, always doing whatever it takes to protect her clan. However, you may speak whenever you wish; I am not a tyrant leader demanding submission rituals."

Cookie broke in. "Ahem! I would like to ask a question."

"What might that be?" Stonestar mewed.

"Is it really possible for outside cats to join your clan?" he asked bluntly.

Precious nudged him in irritation, knowing her brother's thoughts. "You can't join their clan, Cookie! I need you back home."

"Wherever a cat's path may lead him or her, if it is genuine, we will accept any outsiders we deem capable of being warriors for ThunderClan," the ThunderClan leader answered, then turned to look at Chuck and Ralph. "Now, last night, I met your brother in the woods and he fought like an apprentice well trained. I could not pass up his potential and I invited him to join my clan, and he accepted."

Ralph prodded his brother. "I'm sorry I didn't tell I was going to go into the woods, but I am sure you can imagine why. I want to remain a tom; I don't want our housefolk taking that away from me."

Chuck flattened his ears, disappointed and saddened. "Does that mean you're not coming home?" he asked quietly.

Ralph hesitated. "Yes… I am staying here; I can't let them destroy who I am. What happened to Precious' father has scared me too deeply."

"But I will miss you, Ralph," Chuck stared at him seriously. "Our housefolk will miss you, especially the little child they have that always plays with us."

Ralph flattened his ears, annoyed at the mention of his housefolk. "If they love us so much, then why do all housefolk destroy a tom's dignity?" he growled lightly.

"Maybe they won't do that to us," reassured Chuck.

"And maybe they will," reminded Ralph, "but I am not going to stick around to find out. I want to be wild and free, and remain a tom out here, far from the reaches of any housefolk, or what this clan calls twolegs."

Chuck frowned. "I see there's no changing your mind."

Ralph flicked his tail anxiously. He may be a thick-headed, unaffectionate tom but when it came to his relationship with his brother he was always caring. He would miss him too if Chuck decided not to join with him in ThunderClan.

Stonestar interrupted the two brothers. "All of you are always welcome to join if you feel it suits you. However, you must decide now while you are visiting, for we are a clan with borders; borders are to be respected, and we will forbid any of you who do not join with us now to ever return."

The cats listened intently to what the older leader had to say.

"You must choose your alliances. You have friends and families back home in your twoleg place, but you have a promise of a great future here in the clan; you, and you yourselves alone, must decide which is more important to you," Stonestar said, and finished.

Chuck hated the thought of leaving his housefolk. He loved them so much and they were very kind to him, something he knew his brother did not appreciate fully. They took better care of them than most housefolk did.

Cookie was the first to speak up. "Stonestar, I know my decision already; I have heard a lot about clan life through rumors and stories. I wish to join your clan."

"Brother!" Precious exclaimed horrified. "You can't! What about me? Would you really leave me?"

Cookie whipped his tail to and fro, annoyed that she didn't aspire the same things in her future as he did. "Join with me then. This way we can have a great life, as real cats."

Precious was so unsure that it jabbed Chuck in the heart deeply. She was his close friend, though a bit younger than him by three moons. "Stonestar, what do you feel about me having a trial stay? What if I saw how it was to live clan life and decided after a certain amount of time if I want to stay or not?"

"Whatever you feel is best," Stonestar nodded. "But if you should decide to leave in the end, feel no guilt; clan life is not meant for all cats."

Chuck furrowed his eyes. "What are the downsides to living in a clan? I am hearing only about the perks so far."

"Smart tom, it is always good to ask questions such as this," Stonestar seemed impressed. "I say this to all of you, even you Ralph; the seasons are harsh outside of your twoleg homes. Leaf-bare, what you call winter, can be brutal; you will struggle for your warmth and food, and your very life will be on the line. In the hot sun of Greenleaf, your summer, you will be expected to work hard to provide for your clanmates. You will mark our territory, battle against challengers and intruders; you will hunt to feed your clanmates. Sometimes you yourself will go without eating, but as stated in the beginning, the rewards are great; you will become a true cat, and remain a tom and remain a she-cat. You will have our warrior ancestors to guide you, and the support and fellowship of the clan will always be with you, even when you hunt alone."

Chuck had been picturing it all in his head; it sounded like a big sacrifice and a lot of hard labor work, but at the same time it tugged at him like the scent of a tasty mouse after a long night of skirmishes with neighborhood toms. He could say it was his instincts pulling him toward ThunderClan. "I will think about what you have said, Stonestar," he mewed, grateful for his offer.

"Of course, young one; the truth is, we need more warriors, the past seasons have been hard on all the clans," he said.

"Ralph and Cookie have made their decisions, and the tortoiseshell she-cat will stay with us a while… so what will you do, Chuck? Do you wish to stay a while and decide if you like clan life as well?" Stonestar asked.

Chuck hesitated and didn't answer right away. "I suppose I will stay until the end of the day, and then I will head home and think about it overnight. Is that alright?"

"Yes, of course," replied the leader.


	3. Chapter 3

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather below the Highledge for a clan meeting!"

The call of Stonestar caught the attention of all able-bodied cats and Chuck watched from the grassy, sunlit circle below the ledge the leader stood upon as the clan gathered just as he had ordered. The ginger tom truly did appreciate how much order there was among these cats, and they all seemed to cherish each other as siblings. He definitely felt tempted to become one of them, but his heart was torn in two and he had no idea what he should do as a final decision.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind, he became aware of the tortoiseshell she-cat coming to sit beside him, feeling the comfort of home by her presence. He was sure that he gave her the same feeling. Together, they watched Cookie and Ralph get initiated into ThunderClan.

The two toms sat together directly below the leader, listening intently to his words.

"I have gathered you all here today to announce that we are getting two new apprentices in ThunderClan," Stonestar said proudly, "Ralph and Cookie have decided wholeheartedly that ThunderClan life is the life for them, and I will be giving them their apprentice names, as StarClan gives me wisdom."

The clan waited in suspense, deeply excited for the new arrivals. Chuck wondered what his brother felt like, to have so many eyes locked on him.

"Cookie, you have shown a great heart of courage by venturing from your twoleg home into unknown territory and being completely comfortable in the presence of our clan, aspiring to be one of us and despising the life of a kittypet," the ThunderClan leader addressed the blue-gray-and-white tom first solemnly, "and now I give your apprentice name in the presence of StarClan, our warrior ancestors who have led your heart here to us. Cookie, from this day onward, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be known as Crestpaw in honor of the watery blue and wave crest white in your coat—I call on Roseshine to mentor you."

A cream furred she-cat, presumably Roseshine, trotted from the crowd of cats and met Cookie—or Crestpaw now—and touched noses with him. They exchanged some words that were inaudible to Chuck, but he knew that they were positive words. He glanced at Precious beside him, who was still looking her uncertain self, trying to hide behind Chuck's body from the big clan.

 _I have a feeling she will not stay here with her brother,_ Chuck said silently. _Good, then I won't lose all my friends today at least._

"Crestpaw! Crestpaw!" the clan echoed in a relentless chant, welcoming their new clanmate with love.

Stonestar raised his tail, signaling for silence after a long moment. When the chanting had died down, he went on to address Chuck's brother Ralph. "Ralph, you met a ThunderClan patrol last night and were not outmatched by much. This has impressed us, and we invited you into our clan and you accepted. So now, I hereby give your apprentice name. From this moment on, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be known as Redpaw, in honor of your red coat. Jaggedpine, you will be Redpaw's mentor, teach him well."

Jaggedpine, an ash gray tom with white spots above his green eyes, came to meet Redpaw and touched noses with him. Chuck assumed that this was their custom.

"Redpaw! Redpaw!"

"Redpaw!" Chuck cheered for his brother, not caring what name he chose to go by; he would always still be his kin.

Stonestar narrowed his eyes kindly at Chuck and Precious. "We also have two visitors with us tonight; Chuck and Precious. Precious will be staying with us a few days to decide if clan life suits her, while Chuck will stay until sundown and return to his twolegs to think about joining the clan overnight, and will give his answer at dawn. Make them feel comfortable. That is all, this meeting is over."

As the cats that had gathered around began to go back to their activities, Crestpaw and Redpaw conversed with their mentors and Chuck approached them with Precious.

"Will we begin training today?" asked Crestpaw, waving his tail excitedly and flexing his claws on the dirt and grass.

Jaggedpine shook his head, answering in place of Roseshine. "No, we will begin tomorrow at dawn. For now, you two get the best job in the whole world."

Redpaw and Crestpaw looked at him expecting to hear something exciting.

"You two get to search the elders for ticks," announced Roseshine. "Go to Mistheart in the medicine cat den and borrow some mouse bile from her to use."

Precious coughed quietly. "Eww… I do not like that one bit," she muttered to the ginger tabby tom beside her.

Chuck twitched his whiskers in amusement. _Ralph, you really do get yourself into the worst situations, don't you?_

Crestpaw appeared to try with all his strength not to throw up at the thought of using mouse's bile. "Why do you we use that for ticks?"

Redpaw frowned but did not object. "Yes, Roseshine," he mewed respectfully. His face was completely somber, as if he intended to do his duty well, even if he didn't like it. "Where is the medicine cat den?"

 _You really think you can handle cleaning out old cats?_ He asked his brother silently.

"To the right of the leader's den, up the rocky sloped ledge, covered by oak branches," his mentor replied, pointing with her paw.

Redpaw turned and prodded Crestpaw's flank. "Let's go," he urged and bounded off to the medicine den, without giving his brother another look. Crestpaw followed, after giving a friendly nod to his sister.

Chuck tried not to take it personally; knowing Ralph—or Redpaw—this was his way of convincing his brother to join. It was a form of silent treatment. Chuck knew he would never give him any attention until the ginger tabby tom decided to become a clan cat, and Chuck dreaded the thought of having to go back home and never see him again.

Jaggedpine's voice distracted him from his thoughts. "Newcomer, I hear you are considering joining ThunderClan, yes?" he asked.

Roseshine gestured for Precious to follow her, and she did, talking privately with the she-cat and leaving her friend behind.

Chuck met the tom's gaze. "I may join," he said doubtfully.

"You don't seem so sure what you want," the gray tom commented. "I was watching you from the crowd, and you seemed so alight watching the ceremony. Yet now, you seem uncertain of what you want."

"I suppose," Chuck said quietly, looking away, almost ashamed to admit it in front of these strong forest cats. "I love my housefolk, they are so kind to me, and yet I feel my heart torn to be in this clan with… Redpaw, and Crestpaw."

 _If I do join, I don't think I could ever get used to the names!_

"I understand, believe me," the ThunderClan warrior replied. "I was not always part of this clan myself."

"Were you a kittypet?" asked Chuck, interest piqued.

Jaggedpine shook his head. "No, I was a member of WindClan, but I have always desired a forest over my head rather than to run on open ground, exposed."

Chuck tried to imagine what WindClan might be like; running on open land, no trees in sight, very exposed. He had no idea if that was a good thing or not, but if the other clan thrived with that sort of environment then it must be good, whether ThunderClan cats liked it or not.

 _Why is there more than one clan? Why not just live together and be even stronger united?_ The ginger tabby tom asked silently.

"What are the other clans like?" asked Chuck.

Jaggedpine walked past him and motioned for him to follow. "I will explain as I give you a tour of the camp, just as Roseshine is doing for your friend Precious."

Chuck followed along side by side with the warrior, waiting to hear what he had to say about the other neighboring clans he had heard about.

"As you've probably heard, ThunderClan has borders, but not just on twoleg place," began the ash gray tom, leading the way into a narrow crevice in the side of the ravine cliff, "we set up borders with the other three clans as well, to show them who owns what. To the east, WindClan borders with us; a river flows between us. ShadowClan is to the south in a densely wooded area that tends to be overrun by coyotes most of the time, so be glad you're not joining with them. As for our borders with them, a long winding stone wall separates us."

Chuck tried his best to push his somewhat plump body through the narrowness of the crevice without his brother's mentor noticing how different he was to these clan cats. They were so slender, yet he was well fed and thus a bit heavier.

He knew that there were coyotes in these woods, and he often saw them near his housefolk's home, but he hardly believed that these cats had trouble fending them off. Even Chuck, as young as he was, was well on his way toward learning how. Pampered as they may be, him and his brother and his friends were no cowards when it came to fighting. They were not soft and did not pass up a challenge.

"What about the third clan?" he asked.

Jaggedpine flicked his tail, glancing back at him as he continued walking almost effortlessly through the rocks, as if he had been doing it his entire life. "The third is RiverClan, and as depicted by the name they love swimming and eating fish. Their territory is a mixture of forest with spaced out trees, open land and winding rivers and streams. Our border with them is an active thunderpath."

Chuck tilted his head, confused. "What is that?"

"Oh I'm sorry," Jaggedpine mewed apologetically, "you're a kittypet, you wouldn't know all these terms. A thunderpath is what you cats call a road, for monsters, which you call cars."

"I see," mewed Chuck, flattening his ears, "about RiverClan though, why would any cat like water? That just goes against nature."

Jaggedpine laughed. "StarClan knows! In my opinion, they're just a bunch of fish-brained mongrels, always so proud of themselves."

Chuck was about to ask more questions, finding himself growing more and more fascinated with the clans and the way they lived, but was interrupted by realizing that the two cats had come into another den, which was much larger than Stonestar's. It was very warm and smelled of comforting milk.

"Welcome to the nursery," Jaggedpine meowed.

Chuck narrowed his eyes, trying to get used to the darkness, and began to pick up the shapes of a few she-cats, some with litters of kittens and others with huge bellies swollen with coming kittens. The notion had never crossed his mind that the clan must raise young here. "It's very well protected," he remarked.

Jaggedpine dipped his head. "Yes. Protected from an ambush rather well, only one cat can fit through the crevice at a time and not that quickly."

Chuck could see that the she-cats were all gazing at him suspiciously, but knew that he was one of the newcomers. They wrinkled their noses at him, not enjoying his kittypet stink at all. The ginger tabby tom shrunk back a little, embarrassed.

"These mother cats are called queens, and they are warriors who have temporarily retired to this den to care for their young," the ash gray tom told him, "but we'd best get back out to the clearing. Their kits are sleeping; we do not want to wake them."

Jaggedpine went on to show Chuck the apprentice's den, a place where the young cats training to be warriors slept at night. Redpaw and Crestpaw would stay there that night, and Chuck got a good look at it, imagining his once tame friend and brother now sleeping in the fresh air of the forest as wild cats.

The den itself was located inside the ravine wall, but the entrance was a rather large opening as opposed to the rest of the dens. It was probably the size of three cats, and wind could easily gust into the den, making the residing apprentices chilly. The apprentice's den was located beside the warrior's den, which was right next to the camp entry.

"Where will my friend be sleeping?" Chuck asked.

"She is not one of us, yet," answered the tom that was touring him through the camp, "she will sleep by the camp entrance out in the open."

Chuck rotated his ears and stared at his paws; now how could he leave the coming evening if he knew that Precious would have to sleep outside in the cold without shelter, when he knew that she did not even want to be here anyway? "If that is the case, may I stay with ThunderClan as well until she makes her decision?" he inquired, looking back up at Jaggedpine.

Jaggedpine nodded. "I am sure Stonestar won't mind it. I'll let him know your decision later though, just in case."

Chuck smiled. "Thank you. So, what do you eat out here?"

Jaggedpine pointed with his tail to a nearby pile of dead prey. "That's the fresh-kill pile," he explained, walking up to it with the ginger tom. "Whatever you see here is what the clan gets to eat. It is mostly comprised of mice, rabbits, voles, shrews and birds."

Chuck's mouth watered; if he did join the clan, he would enjoy their food. "Lucky. Back in the twoleg place we barely get anything more than a mouse, maybe a rabbit."

Jaggedpine looked at him, surprised. "Kittypets hunt prey?"

Chuck lashed his tail, somewhat amused and also a bit annoyed at the stereotyping that these clan cats gave housecats. "What? Did you think all kittypets were lazy cowards who ate nothing but pellet slop?"

Jaggedpine laughed. "I guess all of us kind of assume that without warrior blood running through your veins you wouldn't even consider acting like a wild cat."

Some time went on and Jaggedpine showed him the rest of the dens; the elders den (at the far end of camp, furthest away from the entrance right beside the nursery) and the warrior's den. There was only one cat in the elders den, an old fluffy white tom named Snowpelt. He slept most of the time and Jaggedpine did not want to disturb him, so they headed for the warriors den.

The entrance to that den was large and open, and a whole group of cats could fit out at a time. To shelter the cats from the wind and elements, a large layer of brambles, branches, mud and leaves had been shaped to make somewhat of a canopy and shield over the entrance.

Chuck and the ash gray tom entered, and he was greeted by the scent of strength. These cats were young and senior, healthy and well able. Chuck was well attuned to recognizing those attributes, even without seeing a cat first. When his eyes adjusted to the shadows, he saw many empty mossy nests scattered about, and no cat was currently present at the moment.

"There's no one here," Chuck remarked.

"They're all out on their warrior duties," Jaggedpine clarified. "As a warrior, you are expected to take part in hunting and border patrols, and if you have an apprentice you must take time to train him or her. It takes up most of the day, so warriors only really come here at night to sleep and resume their duties at dawn to upkeep the clan."

 _It all seems like a lot of hard work goes into being a clan cat,_ thought Chuck. _Would I be able to handle it all?_

"Let's go visit the medicine cat den," the ash gray warrior turned and headed outside and into the medicine cat's abode. Chuck followed and once inside, a powerful aroma of natural plants and flowers attacked the scent glands in his nostrils.

"Good afternoon, Mistheart," Jaggedpine mewed kindly, approaching a silver she-cat with blue eyes. The she-cat seemed very sweet and smiled, giving a warmhearted glance to the stranger cat Chuck.

Redpaw and Crestpaw had already left with the mouse bile to tend to the elders, probably just before because Chuck had not seen them in the elders den while going around seeing the camp and all its features.

"Good afternoon, Jaggedpine," purred Mistheart, getting up from sorting her herbs into little crevices and approaching the two cats. "I met the new apprentices, looks like they were born to be clan members. They seem to have no trouble doing their duties."

Jaggedpine twitched his whiskers in pride. "My apprentice looks to be taking his job very seriously."

"Redpaw will make a fine warrior," Mistheart meowed.

Chuck envied his brother in a way; right off the bat he had proven he was capable of being a warrior with his good fighting tactics and had been accepted by the clan, fully ready to give up his household life as a domestic cat. If only he had that ability! Then maybe his decision wouldn't be so hard. "Do either of you think that I will fit into ThunderClan if I joined with Redpaw and Crestpaw?"

Jaggedpine and Mistheart turned their attention to him, but it was the medicine cat to answer. "Not all cats are cut out for clan life," purred the silver she-cat, licking his forehead tenderly. "If the wild calls you, then you must answer it."


	4. Chapter 4

The tortoiseshell she-cat had been with Roseshine, her brother's mentor, all day learning about the clan's ways. As scared as she was of living in the wilderness, Precious felt that she loved her brother even more and would try her best to give this whole thing a chance.

When it was nearly evening, she settled by the camp's entrance where she was meant to sleep for the night. The she-cat understood why she must do this; not being a true member of the clan and a kittypet, outsiders were not exactly welcomed among the other cats unless they wanted to join.

A cold breeze picked up as the tortoiseshell made a makeshift bed out of the grass blades and some moss from the rocks nearby that nobody was using. The air ruffled her fur and she felt the urge to run back home and slip into her home with her housefolk, and cuddle on a warm bed, safe from the outside.

Loneliness crept into Precious' heart as she lay down on her nest, and she watched all the cats settle into their warm mossy nests for the night.

She assumed her friend Chuck had gone home by now, the tom probably having been eager to leave this place. She wouldn't blame him; he loved his housefolk and Redpaw had put him in a very tough place. She felt a pang of sympathy for him, having to make a decision between his brother and his loving human family. Precious understood exactly what he was feeling, because she felt it too; her own brother Crestpaw had put her in the same place.

Closing her eyes and curling up as tightly as possible to retain her heat during the night ahead, Precious began to drift off to sleep. She was quickly awakened by the sound of forthcoming pawsteps. "Precious."

She blinked open her eyes to see the familiar ginger tabby tom standing right before her. "Chuck!" she gasped and sat up. "I thought you'd gone home like you said."

Chuck shook his head and snuggled up beside her, to keep both of them warm. "No. When I heard that the clan was not allowing you to sleep inside a den, I knew I had to stay and keep you company. You'd be too scared alone at night in a strange place."

Precious felt very thankful to him for staying with her. What a good and considerate friend, she thought.

"Thank you," the tortoiseshell cuddled up with the ginger tom and pressed her nose into his fur, slowly drifting off into sleep.

His presence made everything better; with her best friend by her side, she knew that she could handle being a clan cat for her brother's sake. Precious felt confidence in her decision now; if Chuck decided to join ThunderClan, so would she.

When dawn light sprayed into the camp through the trees, a mist swept over the land and wet everything it touched. The birds began to chirp once again and the cats of ThunderClan started to emerge from their dens, waking up to start a new day.

Precious was awakened as the sun's light broke through the horizon and was cast down into her eyes. Chuck still lay asleep beside her. She was hungry, her belly rumbling like a storm.

 _It probably wouldn't be a good idea to eat their food,_ she mused. _Should I go back home, get something to eat and then come back?_

Just as she was thinking about where to find food, a warrior she had never met before came up to the two cats. "Hello," she mewed, her long fur black as coal and her golden yellow eyes like the moon when it was full. Her voice was neither friendly nor aggressive, but dry and blank. "I am Blackpool, a warrior. I've heard a lot about you, how you are considering joining the clan."

Precious smiled, being her usual cheerful self. "That's right!"

She felt Chuck stir awake beside her.

"Well, would you make your minds up already?" Blackpool lightly growled at them. "You're filling our camp with your twoleg stench and if any cat from another clan hears that we're doing this for you, they'll think us weak and soft."

With that the rude she-cat stormed away, tail lashing in annoyance, and went to join a small group of other warriors. Precious was offended and saddened by the way she was treated for being a housecat; why was she any different than them just because she did not live in the wild?

"Don't pay attention to her," Chuck muttered, staring after the black she-cat with narrowed, focused eyes. "She's probably just very biased against outsiders."

Precious twitched her tail. "You're not kidding… so what now?"

Chuck shrugged. "I don't know. We could stay another day to keep thinking our decision over."

Precious remembered her thoughts before falling asleep the night before. "Actually about that," she mewed calmly, looking him in the eyes. "I have made up my mind."

Chuck looked relieved. "Good. What have you decided?"

 _He knows me well,_ she thought. _He knows I would never stay in this wild place… but he forgets that I put others before myself._

"I will join the clan, if you do," she stated firmly. "And I will go back home, if you do."

Chuck looked as if his heart had sunk. He looked away and remained silent for a moment. Precious knew the pressure she and everyone else was putting on him, but he was her deciding force; wherever he went, she was content to be. He was her best friend, closer to her than even her brother Crestpaw.

Finally the ginger tom looked back at her. "You're not making this easier for me," he frowned.

"I'm sorry, but I'm content being wherever you are," she mewed, "you were there for me when my mother abandoned me and my brother. You're my best friend."

Chuck cracked a smile. "I'm glad you feel that way."

Precious cuffed his ear playfully. "Surely you're leaning toward a certain decision, right?"

"I think I truly do feel the wild calling me, if I am honest," the ginger tom said. "If all my friends and my brother are here as well, that's definitely another reason to stay."

Since they were both rather hungry, they padded up to some warriors beside the fresh-kill pile and beckoned with their heads a greeting. "May we have something to eat?" asked Chuck.

Precious hoped they allowed it, her stomach echoing and crying for nourishment. "Please. We're very hungry; we have not eaten since early yesterday."

A calico tom gave them a cold glare. "You may have the tiniest mice you can find," he said, searching the pile for them and finding two scrawny mice and flinging them their way. The tom then returned to eating his vole.

"Thank you!" Precious shot him a look of gratitude. She took her mouse and went to lay a little distance away from the warriors, followed by Chuck who also had his piece of prey. They ate it in peace together, afterward feeling their energy returning to every fiber of their bodies.

"I was starving," the tortoiseshell mewed with satisfaction. "That tasted good… better than the mice back home."

 _Wait,_ she thought, realizing what she had said. _If I like the prey better in the forest, does that mean I belong here?_

The idea filled her heart with thrill, yet she had no idea why; perhaps she would enjoy it out here more than she thought, should Chuck decide to stay?

"It is actually a lot better," Chuck admitted, sounding a little surprised himself.

If Precious could just feel at home and accepted as part of the clan, then she felt as if she could stay here forever. It wasn't really all that bad, at least not right now. Stonestar had made it clear that clan life would not always be easy, but perhaps it would be alright.

Her initial fears had started to subside about joining ThunderClan. She realized that her only real reason for not wanting to join was because she'd feel alone and out of place, so once that had started to ebb away the night before due to Chuck's presence with her, the tortoiseshell she-cat began to focus on her own desires and was beginning to decipher the message that her heart was telling her, and the message that the forest was delivering to her in the most natural, instinctive way imaginable.

"The wild is calling me, Precious."

The ginger tom's words plunged her out of her thoughts and back into the present. Precious was startled that he'd made up his mind, simultaneously with her. "Chuck…" she stared at him with astonishment.

Chuck flattened his ears. "Mistheart told me that if I feel the wild calling me, then I must answer it. Precious, I really hope you don't mind, but I must join ThunderClan and become a wild cat."

Precious' eyes grew alight with the early development of tears of joy. "Chuck, I was hoping you would say that."

Chuck widened his eyes. "Really? I thought for sure you wanted to go back home."

Precious flicked her tail and purred. "I did, but when you stayed with me last night you made me realize that there is no home like the home where your friends and family are. If you all choose to stay here, I know I can learn to love it far more than with our twolegs."

Chuck purred and began to lick her, grooming the she-cat. "Thank you. Shall we go tell Stonestar?"

"Yes!"

"Have you made your decisions yet, young ones?" asked the ThunderClan leader when he had seen the two enter his den. There was a hopeful look in his deep yellow eyes.

Precious held her tail high in greeting. "Yes, Stonestar; I have decided to join ThunderClan as an apprentice, just as my brother Crestpaw and Chuck's brother Redpaw have."

Chuck seemed to hold his head high and proudly, and he seemed unlike his normal self. Precious believed him when he said that he felt the wild calling him, but what had gotten into him? He was usually reserved and shy and somewhat anxiety-filled about the unknown.

Maybe it's the same call of the wild that is calling me, reasoned Precious silently.

"As will I," announced the ginger tabby, "I will become a ThunderClan apprentice. The wild has called me, and I will answer."

"Good choices," purred Stonestar, flicking his tail tip slowly. "ThunderClan will serve you well as long as you serve it well. However, have you considered what I told you yesterday? Times will be hard. Are you still sure you want to be a clan cat?"

The two cats nodded.

"Very well then," Stonestar mewed, standing up from his soft mossy nest. "We will have your ceremonies immediately."


	5. Chapter 5

Chuck was excited to know what his apprentice name would be. Sure, he wouldn't be referred to by his kittypet name anymore, which he had known all of his life, but this was going to be a fresh start. A new adventure was about to begin and the wild would welcome him as one with itself.

Precious settled beside him at the base of the Highledge below where Stonestar held the ceremony for both of them. Chuck watched as the leader called a clan meeting and all the cats gathered around, watching them with intent.

Chuck scanned them all for Redpaw and Crestpaw, who he found to be in front with delight on their faces.

"Precious," Stonestar began, all eyes falling on him, "you have shown interest in joining ThunderClan just as your brother Crestpaw did. You have decided that clan life is good for you; therefore, I make you an apprentice of ThunderClan. From this day forward, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be known as Tawnypaw. Blackpool will be your mentor; I know she will teach you well."

 _Blackpool as a mentor?_ Chuck exclaimed silently. _That rude she-cat will terrorize her. Now I feel sorry for Precious… I mean Tawnypaw._

Chuck looked over at the tortoiseshell she-cat and saw that she was clearly a little worried and nervous. Behind her Blackpool was trotting from the crowd of cats over to her, and Tawnypaw drew herself up to meet her mentor. They touched noses just as normally as any mentor and apprentice would the first time after a ceremony.

Blackpool seemed rather friendly now, so maybe she had simply been very territorial against cats not of her clan. That was understandable, Chuck supposed.

The fluffy black she-cat shot a glance at Chuck, held it awkwardly, and then sat down beside Tawnypaw. The ginger tabby narrowed his eyes; he had seen those yellow eyes somewhere before…

 _Or perhaps I feel they're familiar because I saw her earlier,_ Chuck tossed the thought to the back of his mind, turning his attention back to Stonestar.

He was next in receiving his apprenticeship and a new name, and Chuck shivered with excitement.

"Now we will hold the last apprentice ceremony of the day," announced the dark gray leader, his eyes cast down on the ginger tabby tom. "Chuck, you came here in search of your brother Redpaw, and ended up finding something deeper; the wild, and it has called you and you have answered it. I hereby give you your new name."

 _What will it be?_ Chuck breathed intensely.

"Chuck, from this moment onward, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be called Wildpaw, in honor of your willingness to answer the call of the wild," Stonestar meowed from the Highledge, "and you will be mentored by none of other than I, Stonestar, leader of ThunderClan."

What? Wildpaw gasped in shock. The leader wants to mentor… me?!

Ripples of shock coursed through the ThunderClan cats watching, not expecting their leader to take an apprentice, no less a cat that had not been clan born.

"Silence!" Stonestar growled. "I feel this cat has great potential, and I want to personally make sure that he reaches it. This meeting is over."

With that, the dark gray tom made his way down the ledge to his new apprentice Wildpaw and the crowd of cats began to thin, though a few stuck around to witness the leader touch noses with the ginger tom.

Wildpaw loved his new name; it had a very nice sound to it. Stonestar came to stand right before him and leaned down to touch noses with him. The leader was a very large cat, the largest in the clan from what Wildpaw could tell.

"Welcome to ThunderClan, young one," he mewed happily. "We will begin your training at dawn tomorrow. For now, you and Tawnypaw will be cleaning out the elders for ticks and replacing their moss. Ask Mistheart for some mouse bile."

 _Ugh, I forgot about that,_ Wildpaw scrunched up his face in disgust at the thought of his new apprentice duties.

Blackpool rested her tail tip on Tawnypaw's shoulder. "You probably won't like it, having been used to your comfortable life," she mewed plainly. "But you will get used to it, I promise."

Tawnypaw nodded and said nothing. Wildpaw gave his mentor a respectful dip of his head and signaled for his tortoiseshell she-cat friend to follow him to the medicine cat den.

"This smells terrible!" Tawnypaw whined quietly.

"Quit your yapping and do your job!" Snowpelt growled. "I have a huge tick on the back of my neck that needs removing, and the apprentices are meant to remove it. Now get to it."

Wildpaw tilted his head. _How on earth did you get all these ticks since Redpaw and Crestpaw tended to you yesterday?_ He asked silently. _It's like you got them on purpose to make us all suffer._

Tawnypaw flicked her tail, annoyed by the tom's rudeness. "Hold still," she told him kindly, showing no sign of being irritated. Wildpaw noted how considerate she always was, and he admired that about her. For being so young, about six moons old, she sure knew how to handle difficult situations.

The ginger tabby tom began to search through the white furred elder's pelt for lumps that indicated ticks, and found a small one on the tom's leg. "You've got one on your leg here, I'll remove it," mewed Wildpaw, proud of himself.

"Don't say, just do," Snowpelt mumbled crossly.

 _We're trying to help you,_ Wildpaw said silently. _I wish you'd show us more respect._

Taking the mouse bile they had received from the ThunderClan medicine cat, the ginger apprentice applied it by paw to the tick. A moment later, the nasty insect fell off and Wildpaw crushed it with his paws. However, it did not go as planned, for blood then covered his paws.

"You don't have to do that; the bile kills them pretty much instantly," Snowpelt explained drily, talking to the former kittypet as if he were an idiot, "Now you'll have to wash your paws of blood. What a shame you aren't clan born, you would have known that."

 _Stop treating us like mouse-dung just for being former kittypets!_ Wildpaw shot him a dark glare. It had to be normal, his brother and Crestpaw probably had gotten the same treatment. These cats were too isolated; outsiders weren't always bad, especially when those outside cats became part of your clan. He was a ThunderClan cat now. Nothing would change that, not after the strange dream he'd had the night before.

Wildpaw said nothing in response to Snowpelt and continued searching for ticks. That seemed to be the last of them though.

"I think you're all clear," Tawnypaw mewed.

"I believe I am, I feel much better," Snowpelt examined himself.

Wildpaw was about to ask if he needed new moss for his nest, but figured that he'd get yelled at for not being a self-starter, so he sniffed the moss and felt it for himself to determine whether he needed it replenished or not. It did smell a bit nasty; maybe Redpaw and Crestpaw had not changed it the day before. "We need to change his bedding," the ginger apprentice mewed to Tawnypaw.

"I don't know where to find any moss though," worried Tawnypaw.

Snowpelt huffed. "The easiest task and you can't even do it. Moss is found wherever there are rocks, near waterways and wherever the rain can reach."

If you know so much about it, Wildpaw said silently, why not just get up and get it yourself?

"Yes, Snowpelt," he mewed curtly, and charged out of the den, expecting Tawnypaw to follow him. "We'll be right back with your moss!"

Once outside the elders den, Wildpaw rolled his eyes. "What a disrespectful tom," he rumbled.

The tortoiseshell she-cat brushed herself along his flank. "Old cats are grumpy," she mewed, still retaining her positive attitude. She was the last cat Wildpaw ever thought would do well in this environment, and at this rate the she-cat was fairing better than him. His patience ran a bit thin when he was treated that way, just because of something he couldn't help about his past.

"Ah well," he changed the subject, "I wonder where Crestpaw and Redpaw are?"

"Training with their mentors, I guess," Tawnypaw shrugged. "I have an idea for the moss by the way."

"What is it?" asked the ginger tabby tom.

"We can use the moss we slept on last night by the entrance!"

"I am totally for that," responded Wildpaw.

So once they had taken the moss and brought it back to Snowpelt, they replaced his old nest and made him a new one. The white elder laid down and went to sleep without thanking the apprentices, but they didn't mind; they already expected him to be that way.

Upon leaving the elders den, their duties finished, Wildpaw scanned the warm, sunlit clearing for his brother. He had not spoken to him in a while and dearly missed his company. At that moment, he saw Redpaw and Crestpaw with their mentors come walking through the camp entrance, looking somewhat tired.

"Let's go see them!" meowed Tawnypaw as she bounded off toward them. Wildpaw followed close behind.

Redpaw lifted his gaze and smiled subtly. He trotted up to his brother. "So, Wildpaw," he began, "how was Snowpelt?"

Wildpaw puffed with amusement. "He was a paw-full, I'll say that much."

Crestpaw lashed his tail and strutted his way past them with Roseshine in the lead. They looked like they were heading to get something to eat. "Redpaw, you brilliant tom, I am so glad you led us all here," he mewed and then bounded away.

"He seems happy," Wildpaw remarked.

"I don't think I have ever seen my brother _that_ happy," Tawnypaw stared after the blue-and-white tom, looking to be rather pleased with how much her brother was enjoying himself among the clan.

Jaggedpine gave his apprentice a curt nod and prodded his shoulder. "Be ready, Redpaw," he mewed. "At noon you and all the apprentices are going on a hunting patrol."

Redpaw flicked his tail with eagerness. "That is great, I'll be ready."

Wildpaw's yellow-green eyes shone. "Will Stonestar come along?" he asked.

"Perhaps," replied Jaggedpine, slowly walking past. "He is your mentor after all. He'll want to teach you to hunt in the forest." With that, the dark gray tom raced off toward the fresh kill pile and picked a small shrew and settled down to eat.

Redpaw sat down and began to lick his chest fur. "So, Tawnypaw, I really doubted you would choose to join ThunderClan."

"I surprised myself honestly," the tortoiseshell responded, chuckling.

 _You surprised me as well,_ Wildpaw said silently.

"What did you do with your mentors today, Redpaw?" asked Wildpaw, curiously. He wanted to know exactly what he was up against as far as training went. He may have been called by the wild, but he hoped he had what it took to be a wild cat.

Redpaw looked at him. "We didn't really do much. Roseshine and Jaggedpine showed us all around the territory, and the borders with the other clans."

"Is the territory very big?" asked Tawnypaw.

"It is quite large, actually," the red tom answered, "a few miles across in each direction."

Wildpaw sat down. "Did you see any cats from the other clans?" he asked.

"No, not this time," Redpaw mewed, sharpening his claws on the dirt with poise. "But I was told that if I do see one on our side of the border, that I am to attack them. This is my clan now, and if I ever see an intruder I will send them running back to their territories with their tails between their legs."

Wildpaw remarked on how much his brother had come alive since joining the clan. It was as if Redpaw had lost his kittypet identity and appeared physically as if he had never been owned by twolegs. It was as if the red tabby tom had not been eating kittypet slop a few days before and had not enjoyed a nice nap on the sofa. _That side of him is long gone,_ Wildpaw thought.

"You know, Wildpaw," Redpaw mewed, "I'm glad I was brave enough to come here. We had nothing with the twolegs compared to this. Our future is set in stone now, and nothing will hinder us."

Wildpaw admired his assuredness. He still loved his twolegs and, well, maybe he could slip away every now and again to visit them but over all he did agree with Redpaw. "I agree," he said. "It's better to go without food sometimes and still be wild than to be plump and a slave."


	6. Chapter 6

By the time noon had come, it had begun to rain from the approaching dark storm clouds in the sky above. Tawnypaw felt the dewy air drifting into the apprentice den through the wide open cave mouth, and her fur ached for a better shelter.

 _This feels horrid,_ she thought with repulsion.

Wildpaw came up and licked her fur, trying to remove the feeling of dewiness she'd gotten. It was almost as if he'd read her thoughts, but she figured it was just because he knew her likes and dislikes well. "Thanks, Wildpaw," she purred.

Crestpaw sat at the opening of the den, watching the rain light pour down, hardly fazed by the weather. Even Redpaw, being the one who had found the clan and had convinced everyone else to join, wasn't as bouncy and happy as the blue-and-white tom.

A fiery colored she-cat drew near from the clearing and entered the den. "Greetings, kittypets," Dawnpaw hissed and shook herself off, managing to get the nearby cats drenched with water on purpose.

Tawnypaw frowned at the she-cat's impoliteness. "So many cats here seem to hate us for what we were," she mewed, a bit downtrodden. She had not expected the majority of the clan to treat them as if they were worthless when they had shown interest in being one of them.

Redpaw shook himself off and shot Dawnpaw a dark glare. "I think it's just the way the clans are," he explained. "As soon as we prove to them that we're worth respecting, I think they will treat us like the others."

A little bit later Jaggedpine, Roseshine, Blackpool, Stonestar and a brown tabby tom waited outside the apprentices den. Stonestar padded forward and peaked his head in, seeing the five young cats. "Wildpaw, and everyone else," the gray leader called. "We're going out on a hunting patrol.

Tawnypaw snorted. _What a day to have to train in,_ she twitched her whiskers.

Wildpaw's fur became soaked in the gentle rain that fell through the tree branches. He followed the hunting patrol through undergrowth and leafy ground. Jaggedpine led the patrol. Tawnypaw kept close to Wildpaw, and Redpaw scouted at the head of the patrol. Crestpaw stayed by his mentor Roseshine.

"I hope we don't embarrass ourselves," Tawnypaw mewed timidly.

Wildpaw raised a brow at her. "We know how to hunt, we should be fine."

The tortoiseshell she-cat's gaze fell onto the earth they treaded upon. "Yea, but… these cats seem much more advanced at everything than we are. They were made to survive, and yet we have only hunted for sport and not out of necessity."

Wildpaw knew what she was getting at, but did not want to admit it. He wanted to fit in, and felt that his hunting skills were top notch. He felt that he needed little training in that department. "What's your point?"

Tawnypaw looked at him with worry. "They're obviously much better at it than us, this is what they live for."

"Hush, young ones," the voice of Stonestar whispered as the leader came to pad beside them. "The clan may be wary of newcomers and pick at everything you do, but I am confident that if you have a heart to succeed you inevitably will if you don't give up. You will do fine, and if you mess up, that is why you are an apprentice—you are in training."

Wildpaw smiled and dipped his head respectfully to his mentor. "Thank you, Stonestar," he mewed with deep admiration.

They walked on and the ginger tabby tom's paws ached, feeling as if they had treaded forever over the woodland. He was glad when they came to a stop suddenly, by a rippling pond, small and humbly hidden by reeds and bushes. "We can hunt here," Stonestar mewed, resting his tail on Wildpaw's haunches.

Blackpool nudged Tawnypaw toward the bank of the pond. "There should be some voles nearby. Try to spot one."

The tortoiseshell she-cat crouched low, silently sniffed the air and scanned the undergrowth for movement. Perking up her ears, she zoned in a tiny vole cleaning its ears behind reeds. "I think I see one," she hissed to her mentor.

"Good!" purred the black she-cat. "Now creep toward it carefully, and don't make a sound; a broken twig or a lazy drag of your tail, and your prey is gone."

Wildpaw watched intently, his heart merry seeing his friend have success finding prey on her first try, and rooted for her silently. You can do it, Tawnypaw.

Tawnypaw stealthily stalked forward, doing very well and keep silent, until one careless, misjudged step forward rustled leaves and the vole took immediate notice, retreating into the water as quick as a snake's bite.

"I'm sorry, Tawnypaw—" Wildpaw began to comfort his friend, but was cut off by Blackpool.

"Useless kittypet!" the black she-cat hissed with rage at the tortoiseshell apprentice. "I won't put up with your careless attitude. You are not trying to impress us; you are out here learning how to survive. You were not watching your steps carefully like I told you to."

"I'm sorry, Blackpool," Tawnypaw shrunk back, her ears pinned to the back of her neck in shame.

Wildpaw furrowed his brows at the haughty Blackpool. How dare she speak to his friend that way? He was about to go to Tawnypaw's defense but Stonestar beat him to it. "Leave her be, Blackpool," the gray leader hissed sternly. "She's only just begun training. She may have messed it up, but she was doing well in the beginning, as good as any apprentice."

Blackpool screwed up her face, frowning. "I understand, Stonestar, but why do you have to let these soft kittypets join our clan? They don't have warrior blood; they were not bred to live wild like us. It just puts more work on us because we have to train these worthless cats."

Stonestar flattened his ears angrily, yet not losing his cool. "I remember not long ago, Blackpool, that you were a kittypet who had trouble fitting in and learning the basics of hunting and fighting."

 _Blackpool used to be a kittypet?_ Wildpaw gasped. _She sure transformed into something else, and she seems to be accepted as a full ThunderClan cat, so that gives us hope._

Blackpool growled and looked away from her leader, giving in and silently admitting that he was right.

Tawnypaw still looked unsure and a little frightened. Wildpaw gave her a few licks on her forehead. "It's alright, better luck next time," he purred.

Stonestar beckoned to Wildpaw. "Come this way, we'll go hunting on our own a few fox lengths away."

Wildpaw followed him, giving Tawnypaw a reassuring look as he went, and halted at the other side of the pond with his mentor the ThunderClan leader. "Can you sense any prey nearby?" asked the gray tom softly.

Wildpaw narrowed his eyes at the tall grass and the reeds, checking for movement and any signs of life, and honing his hearing to pick up on any sneaky prey. He thought he heard small shuffling in a patch of reeds beside him, and carefully got into a hunting crouch.

"I hear something by the water," he whispered.

"Now creep forward, slowly, and don't make one sound, don't breathe too heavily and don't let your tail drag behind you," muttered Stonestar, flicking his tail proudly.

Now Wildpaw was very good at hunting already, in his own opinion, and he stalked soundlessly toward his prey. When he was close enough and it felt right to pounce on his unseen, hidden vole, he did so quickly and leaped forward with all the power in his back legs. He kicked up leaves and crashed down on a helpless vole, taking hold on its neck with his fangs and killing it quickly, tasting some blood.

"Wonderful, Wildpaw!" his mentor praised him.

Wildpaw held the dangling prey up proudly. "Thanks," he mumbled. The leader seemed like a very honorable cat and to have his praise was beyond awesome.

Suddenly, there was a deafening shriek that sounded in the rainy forest, traveling across the landscape and bouncing off the trees. It startled the ginger tom and caused him to drop his kill. Stonestar froze and tensed up, staring in the direction the screech had come from.

"What was that?" Wildpaw shivered.

"A ThunderClan cat," Stonestar sprang forward and after the sound. "Something is wrong, hurry, all of you!"

The hunting patrol dashed as quickly as they could, Wildpaw forgetting his prey, and they arrived at the WindClan border—or at least what Wildpaw thought was the border. The apprentices stayed back a little ways, while the warriors peered through the underbrush, careful to remain hidden against the shadows of the forest. Before them was an open clearing with a stone wall running through it, and on ThunderClan's side of the territory were two patrols of cats facing off with each other.

"Is that other group of cats WindClan?" hissed Wildpaw to Roseshine, closest to him.

"Yes," she whispered hastily, tail lashing with anger toward the intruders.

Tawnypaw was shaking in her pelt, terrified that she may have to fight when she did not know how. Stonestar noticed this, and quickly ordered her. "Tawnypaw, run back to camp and get back up, we'll need it."

Gladly the tortoiseshell nodded and rushed away, but not before giving Wildpaw a concerned, wishful glance.

Redpaw and Crestpaw crouched low, watching the two clans face off with concentration. Wildpaw did the same and tried his best to catch what was happening.

A mottled brown she-cat was standing defensively against the WindClan cats with a few of ThunderClan behind her, also bristled. "Darksnow, what have you done?" she demanded, her voice shaky with horror. "Why have you killed one of ThunderClan's warriors?"

"Why, if it isn't the deputy of ThunderClan! Your pathetic warrior chased a rabbit across the border and did not respect our clan enough to turn back," snarled the gray and white tom in response, his muzzle full of cat's blood.

Stonestar gasped, catching a glimpse of a blooded cat corpse between the two patrols. "They murdered Stormblaze!"

"We should destroy them all!" roared Jaggedpine, infuriated and pumping with rage.

 _How dare they?_ Wildpaw breathed, feeling the blood pound in his ears.

"When I say 'Attack', do so," Stonestar growled, his tail lashing.

Everyone dipped their head obediently, continuing to watch the skirmish unfold. The cat Darksnow laughed at the ThunderClan she-cat at the head of the border patrol. "It's been known for a very long time that your sorry excuse for a clan have been taking in non-clanborn cats and turning them into warriors."

"What's that to you?" the she-cat snapped. "They've all turned into fine warriors."

"They don't respect the warrior code!" Darksnow bit back. "A cat must not trespass on another clan's territory."

"And a cat must not kill if he doesn't have to!" the mottled brown she-cat screeched.

A large brown tom rushed forward from the WindClan patrol. "We'll show you who is in the wrong, Leafdapple!"

The tom barreled into the ThunderClan she-cat with great strength and pinned her down. Fighting broke out between the two clans, and Stonestar ordered his hunting patrol to attack; Wildpaw streamed into the clearing with his comrades and assaulted the side of the WindClan group.

Stonestar sunk his fangs into the back of Darksnow's neck, flinging him across the cold, wet grass. Jaggedpine was wounded by a brown tabby tom with brown eyes, but counter-attacked and gave him a gash in his cheek.

Roseshine tossed with a pale-and-brown she-cat, hissing and shrieked, sending fur and blood flying in every which way.

Wildpaw yowled as he felt a blow to his forehead, not knowing where it had come from and not used to this barbarism. The fights he'd fought on the street with neighbor cats was nothing as vicious as this! His heartbeat grew faster and he began to worry that he would get seriously hurt.

He looked before him and saw a ginger she-cat with a white chest and tail tip, about his age, rushing at him. Her claws were sharp and unsheathed and she sliced his chest before he had a chance to react.

Wildpaw snarled at the she-cat, presumably an apprentice, and rolled away as she tried to deliver another harmful blow only to leap back at her again, slicing her ear. In return, he instantly received a slash on his muzzle.


	7. Chapter 7

"I don't know who you are, but you smell like a kittypet!" snarled his opponent.

Wildpaw bristled his fur and leaped at her, falsely aiming for her neck, and just as he had predicted she went to swipe at him that way. At the last moment he twisted and latched on her flank, sinking his fangs as deep as he could get them, tearing savagely. The she-cat howled in pain and fell on her side, rolling and attempting to dislodge the ginger tom. He shifted swiftly and positioned himself over her, pinning the golden apprentice.

"Don't underestimate tame cats," he scorned. With that, he raised his paw and slashed it unsheathed across the she-cat's face. "Don't ever think you can mess with ThunderClan again, we're stronger than you may think!"

He let the she-cat up and expected her to run away—as that would have happened in the streets of his neighborhood—but she did not back down, bloodied and clearly defeated and outmatched.

"A clan cat never gives up," she growled precariously. She paused for a moment, catching her breath, allowing Wildpaw to catch his own breath, which he was grateful for. Quickly he looked around and caught sight of his brother Redpaw battling against a ginger she-cat with white limbs and chest. He was fairing rather well, and Wildpaw was proud.

Turning back to his opponent, he waited for her to strike. She was defeated, and he would not assault her if she did not make the first move. "This fight between us is finished. Fight someone else," he eyed her seriously.

She stared at him blankly, but it was clear what she wanted; she did not wish to continue fighting him, so Wildpaw turned his back on her and rushed into the flurry of claws and teeth, looking for another opponent.

Abruptly the ginger tom was toppled over by a big brown tabby tom, the same tom that had gone after Leafdapple, the ThunderClan deputy. His mouth was dripping with other cats' blood, his paws soaked in the same. His strength was unbelievable and Wildpaw struggled against him, but he remained stuck under the WindClan cat.

The brown tabby tom unsheathed his claws and brought his paw down on Wildpaw's throat but the ginger tom blocked his attack with his arm, his arm taking the damage. Blood streamed onto his neck and chest. "All of ThunderClan deserves to die!" snarled the WindClan tom, thrusting Wildpaw's arm out of the way and grabbing him by the throat with his jaws.

He couldn't do any damage before Crestpaw and Dawnpaw barreled into his attacker and began to claw and tear at his skin and fur. Wildpaw stood immediately, in immense pain but trying his best to hide it; this was difficult. He didn't know how much more he could take of this barbarism. He may have known how to fight, but this was greater than any battle he had ever fought.

 _I have to help them,_ Wildpaw told himself determinedly and silent.

Letting out a screech of anger he leaped on the brown tom being assailed by the two apprentices, and when he was vulnerable enough and exposing his belly Wildpaw ran his sharp claws all the way from his chest to his lower belly. It was not a deep, but it was definitely deep enough to draw a small pool of blood from him. The tom wailed in pain, making every cat's ears rumble.

"Rumblefoot!" yelped a watching WindClan she-cat.

Rumblefoot's eyes grew alight with a flame of hate, and he scrambled to his paws. Blood continued to drip from his wound, but raged coursed through his veins and numbed the pain. The brown tabby tom quickly aimed at Crestpaw, who was too slow to move out of the way took the blow on his left eye.

Dawnpaw bit into Rumblefoot's back leg and was met with jaws being clamped around her head. He rapidly shook her, and then pinned her under him, going for a killing bite around the neck.

Wildpaw flung attacked himself to the WindClan cat's throat and prevented him from killing the fiery furred apprentice.

At that moment, he heard fearsome yowling followed by fearsome cries of cats. "They have backup!" the opposition shrieked.

"Retreat, WindClan!" called the voice of Darksnow, leading his cats away from battle.

Rumblefoot tore Wildpaw off him and slammed his body down on the ground, stunning him. Sinking his fangs into the back of the ginger tom's neck, about to end him, Rumblefoot hissed. "You should never have come to the forest, kittypet."

"Rumblefoot, stop!" cried a pale-and-brown she-cat of WindClan. "We don't need to kill to win our battles!"

Crestpaw lay on the ground, whining in pain, unable to fight. Dawnpaw was too dazed and wounded to coordinate properly.

Rumblefoot did not let go of his opponent's neck, and Wildpaw was terrified. He wondered if this was really going to be the end of him. _Precious,_ he cried silently, _I'm so sorry; I never should have let you come to the forest…_

"You're always too soft on the opposition, Cherryfrost," snarled Rumblefoot. "Can't you smell this cat? He's not even a clan cat! He's worthless, he deserves to die."

"Darksnow ordered us to retreat, Rumblefoot, please! Let's go!" Cherryfrost glared at him sternly.

Rumblefoot seemed to consider between obeying his clanmates and killing Wildpaw right then and there. To Wildpaw's relief the brown tom let him go and ran off with Cherryfrost back to his clan's territory, disappearing into the hills.

Wildpaw sat up, blood flowing gently from all of his wounds. It's over, he gasped. He was glad that everyone was okay, and stayed right where he was, recovering his energy a bit.

Tawnypaw came up behind him and immediately began to lick his gashes clean. "Wildpaw, you're hurt!" she fretted.

"Everyone is, but I'll be okay," he mewed softly to her. "It's Crestpaw that you should worry about…"

Tawnypaw flattened her ears, looking mildly traumatized, and rushed up to her brother. "What happened to him?" she asked as if was still groaning in pain.

Wildpaw sighed, wishing that they'd gotten a weaker opponent than Rumblefoot. "A WindClan warrior slashed his left eye; I don't know how damaged it is."

Dawnpaw regained herself. "He may lose sight in that eye, which would inhibit him from ever… being a functional warrior."

Tawnypaw hissed at the she-cat, already having a dislike for her because of what she had said back home in camp. "Don't say that!"

Wildpaw staggered up to his paws and nudged Crestpaw, encouraging him to get up. The blue-and-white tom did, with Wildpaw's and Tawnypaw's help, and with Dawnpaw they treaded slowly over to the rest of the cats a few fox-lengths away.

"Stonestar," Wildpaw coughed, seeing the gray tom sitting beside an injured cat. "We're alright and—"

"Hush!" hissed a reddish-brown tabby tom with blue eyes, trotting up to the four apprentices. "Let Stonestar have a moment with Leafdapple before we bring her body back to camp for burial."

 _Burial?_ Wildpaw thought. His heart sunk in shock. A cat had died during this battle, and it could have easily been one of his friends, or himself even. "Wasn't Leafdapple our deputy?" he whispered very quietly to the brown tabby tom, inaudible to Stonestar.

"Yes," said the tom with great sorrow in his eyes. "She was my littermate and I will miss her dearly… but Stonestar will have to appoint a new deputy before the moon rises, as per the warrior code."

That means one of the warriors has a chance of becoming deputy tonight, Wildpaw said to himself silently. "What does a deputy do?" he wondered, trying to sound as respectful as possible.

"A deputy is the cat that becomes leader when the current leader loses his or her last life," explained the tom, falling silent afterward.

Redpaw, lightly hurt but nothing very noticeable at all, padded up and stood beside Wildpaw, licking some of his wounds to clean them. "You fought much better than I thought you would," he commented proudly.

Wildpaw smiled, thankful for his brother's compliment. "Thank you," he mewed.

Finally Stonestar spoke up, his voice grim and lively as Wildpaw was used to. "I will carry Leafdapple's body back to camp, where we will hold vigil for her under Silverpelt."

With that, each cat tenderly helped each other make the journey back home to the ThunderClan camp through the cold, uninviting forest. The trees and scents that once seemed beautiful and wild now were weighed down with gloom and death and grief.

 _I sure hope Crestpaw's eye is okay,_ shivered the ginger tabby apprentice, _I don't like what Dawnpaw said back there._


End file.
